Boann

Boann is an independent, family-run distillery in the Boyne Valley, at Lagavooren on Platin Road, Drogheda, County Meath. Its story brings together the Cooney family’s drinks industry experience, a former car dealership and an interest in Irish single pot still whiskey. The producer gives its Eircode as A92 X593. [1, 3]

The distillery offers a visitor experience, and its whiskey range includes Boann Single Pot Still and The Whistler. The two names have different origins: Boann refers to a figure in local legend, while The Whistler is named for Pat Cooney. [2, 5]

The Cooney family

Patrick and Marie Cooney founded the distillery with their children Sally-Anne, Celestine, Peter, Paddy and James. The family says it has lived and worked in the Boyne Valley for more than 200 years. That account gives the distillery a connection to the region extending well beyond the start of the current business. [1, 3]

The family built the Gleeson Group from a small independent bottler. The group was sold in 2012. Boann is independent and family-run, so it should not be described as owned by a large drinks group simply because of the family’s earlier business history. [3, 5, 6]

Accounts differ on the length of the family’s drinks industry experience. Bord Bia gives more than 50 years, while the producer gives forty years. Both descriptions point to substantial experience, but they should not be treated as an agreed, precise figure. [3, 6]

When did Boann begin?

The founding date needs similar care. The producer says the distillery became a reality in 2019. A trade account says the venture began in 2016 and that first distillation took place in December 2019. [1, 5]

Those dates describe different possible milestones: the beginning of a venture, the realisation of the distillery and the start of distillation. The supplied evidence does not settle a single founding year, so it is more useful to state the accounts than to choose one date without qualification.

A different use for the site

The distillery occupies a site that used to be a car dealership. According to the trade account, the showroom was converted for brewing, distilling and bottling. The beer and cider side of the business was sold to Carlow Brewing Company in 2019. [5]

There is another connection with the drinks trade at the site: a whiskey bonding business operated there until 1968. That is a separate part of the site’s history, not evidence that Boann itself was operating then. The present distillery belongs to the later Cooney family venture. [5]

Drogheda also has an earlier distilling history. A trade account says the town once had 18 distilleries and that the last closed in the 1850s. These figures provide local context for Boann, although they do not establish a continuous line of production between those earlier businesses and the present distillery. [5]

Stills and production

Boann has three bespoke copper pot stills, made in Italy by Green Engineering. The lyne arms use patented nanotechnology which, according to the trade account, gives six times more copper contact. The intermediate and spirit stills also have reflux control. [4, 5]

These details distinguish the equipment described for Boann from a simple count of its stills. The claim about copper contact is a reported feature of the lyne arms, rather than a tasting note or a guarantee of how a particular whiskey will taste.

About 90 per cent of output is single pot still, according to the trade account. Oats and rye feature in many of the distillery’s mash bills, and 40 recipes have been used. The emphasis on recipes is important to understanding both the core range and the heritage project. [5]

A mash bill is the recipe for the grains used in a whiskey. Boann’s core mash bill is 40 per cent malt, 55 per cent raw barley, 3 per cent oats and 2 per cent rye. Raw barley is the largest stated component, with oats and rye making up a smaller share. [5]

That core recipe should not be confused with every recipe used at the distillery. The reported 40 recipes and the inclusion of oats and rye in many mash bills point to a wider set of recipes than the one specified for the core range.

Heritage mash bills

Boann’s stated mission is to revive single pot still character through heritage mash bills. The most clearly documented example is its work with historian Fionnán O’Connor. In December 2020, the family and O’Connor distilled ten vintage mash bills, producing 2,000 litres of each. [3, 5]

The project is notable for its scale within the information supplied: ten separate recipes were distilled, each in the same stated volume. It also connects the distillery’s interest in historical recipes with actual production, rather than leaving the idea as a general statement of intent.

The figures should be kept distinct from the core recipe. The sheet identifies the number and volume of the vintage mash bills, but it does not give their individual grain proportions. It would therefore be misleading to present the core percentages as the recipe for all ten.

Solstice and the core range

Boann’s first release, Solstice, was a three year old single pot still whiskey from a Pedro Ximénez hogshead. Its name refers to the winter solstice sunrise that lights the chamber at Newgrange. The distillery is about four miles from Newgrange, according to the trade account. [5]

The name connects the release with a specific event and place in the surrounding area. It is a separate story from both the goddess associated with the distillery’s name and the family member associated with The Whistler range.

The core range launched in summer 2024. It comprised three single pot still whiskeys, each aged four and a half years, in Marsala, Madeira and Pedro Ximénez casks respectively. The cask descriptions give a way to distinguish the three releases without inventing tasting notes. [5]

The Solstice and core range accounts also need to be read separately. Solstice is identified as a three year old from a Pedro Ximénez hogshead; the later core range is described as three four and a half year old whiskeys. A shared cask reference does not make them the same release.

Names, legend and family

In legend, Boann, also written Bóinn, is the goddess said to have created the River Boyne. This is a mythological account, not a claim that can be presented as a historical event. It explains the association of the name with the river and its surrounding region. [5]

The Whistler has a different source. The range is named after Pat Cooney, described by the producer as the original whistler. The family’s account says his whistling echoes through the distillery. Boann is therefore not named after a founder, although The Whistler does carry a founder’s association. [1, 2]

The distinction is useful when reading the product names. One draws on a story about the Boyne, and the other on a family story. Neither name needs an invented explanation to make its connection with the distillery clear.

Beyond single pot still

Bord Bia lists five ranges or brands associated with the business: Boann Single Pot Still, The Whistler, Silks Irish Gin, Copper Cloud Irish Gin and 1848 Apple Brandy. The list shows a broader portfolio than the single pot still focus alone, without establishing details of every individual product. [3]

Bord Bia also records Boann’s award for World’s Best New Make Spirit at the World Whiskey Awards 2021. It lists the business as an Origin Green Gold Member in 2024. These are dated distinctions and should be reported with their respective years rather than assumed to apply unchanged today. [3]

Visiting Boann

The producer says the distillery offers a visitor experience. For anyone planning to go, the stated address is Lagavooren, Platin Road, Drogheda, County Meath, and the producer’s Eircode is A92 X593. The supplied information does not establish current opening times or booking arrangements. [1, 3, 5, 6]

Boann’s account is strongest when its different strands are kept distinct: the family’s earlier drinks business, the disputed start date of the venture, the first distillation in 2019 and the later whiskey releases. Together they describe a family-run distillery with a particular interest in single pot still recipes and their history.

Sources

1. Boann Distillery, producer’s account. Our Family. Checked November 2026.
2. Boann Distillery, producer’s account. Home. Checked November 2026.
3. Bord Bia, Irish Food & Drink. Boann Distillery Limited. Checked November 2026.
4. Whisky Clan, trade, citing Whisky Magazine. Boann Distillery: History, Family and Single Pot Still. Checked November 2026.
5. Image.ie, trade. The family behind Boann Distillery. Checked November 2026.
6. WhiskeyAtlas, trade. Boann Distillery. Checked November 2026.